The presence of Kenyan exporters at thisyear's Asia Fruit Logistica shows that the country's exports could have afuture in Asia. Those exporters are hoping Asian consumers will warm up totropical fruit and give them an opening in the market.
“Our main objective at Asia FruitLogistica was to see if there were any opportunities for fruits and vegetablesfrom Kenya,” said Jane Maina of Vert Limited. “But we also wanted to see if wecould learn anything from Asian exporters, who compete with us in the Europeanmarket.” The European market remains very important for exporters like VertLimited, who send their french beans, baby corn, sugar snaps and assortedfruit to Belgium, The Netherlands and Denmark. But, looking ahead, Mainaexplained that Asia could be primed for Kenyan fruit.
“For now, Asia remains a hard sell,especially with vegetables,” said Maina. “But there's a clear development oftaste for tropical or exotic fruit, so we may be able to come to Asia. There ishope because if you look at the avocado, which people didn't know much aboutfive years ago, you see that it's now sought after.” But there remain obstaclesbeyond having a receptive market in Asia.
For one, Kenya's fruit and vegetableproduction is still developing. Vert Limited works with the Micro EnterpriseSupport Trust to find small-scale growers who might not otherwise be able togrow produce for export. MEST helps those growers improve the quality and scaleof their production, and companies like Vert Limited provide export andmarketing services.
“We work with growers in the Lower EasternProvince, which has an arid and semi-arid climate,” said Maina. “So it'sdifficult to grow in these areas. But with irrigation support from MEST, growerscan take advantage of the good soil to grown beans, corn and passion fruit.”Navigating the regulations associated with trans-national trade is alsodifficult, and Kenya's exporters got a tough lesson in that when the EuropeanUnion increased their scrutiny of beans entering the continent from Kenya. Ittook a concerted effort among growers, marketers and the Kenyan government tobring standards up so that they were no longer subjected to additionalinspections. But Maina also believes the experience was, ultimately, a goodone.
“One of the positives of increased checkswas that we began to engage more with stakeholders,” said Maina. “We wereoperating in an unstructured way in the past, but everyone got together becauseof the situation. Now the challenge is to sustain what we built because we arestill in the delicate position where we can fall back and be subjected toadditional inspections once again.” That pressure, seen in a positive light,forces everyone to work together and improve the quality of exported produce.As standards increase and cooperation with government entities continue, Mainabelieves they'll eventually be able to succeed in Asian markets.
“We know we still have some developing todo with our government, because there are lots of things that come to Kenyafrom China, so we should be able to negotiate freely with Chinese companies tosend our products,” said Maina. “The good thing about Kenya is that we can growour fruits and vegetables all year round. We just need the government to helpus so we can become a sustained source of fruit and vegetables for the world.”
For more information:
Jane Maine
Vert Limited
Tel 00254 807 7960
Email info@vertfresh.co.ke
www.vertfresh.co.ke